Machine for cutting cinematographic stencils.



M- VANDAL. MACHINE FOR CUTTING CINEMATOGRAPHIC STENCILS. APPLICATIONFILED AUG-21. 1913.

2 Patented M1224, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET IL M. VANDAL. MACHINE FOR CUTTING CINEMATOGRAPHICSTENCILS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-2h [913.

Patented Apr. 24, 1917.

, JSHEETS-SHEET 2.

MARGEL VANDAL, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

MACHINE FOB CUTTING CINEMATOGRAPHIC STENCILS.

Application filed August 21, 1913.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MARGEL VANDan, a citizenof the Republic of France, residing at 12 Rue Gaillon, Paris, in theRepubl c of France, engineer, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Machlnes for Cutting Cinematographic Stencils, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for cutting films for the purpose ofmaking stencils suitable for the mechanical coloring of other filmsdesigned to be pro ected in colors.

For the purpose of cutting the stencil film use is generally made of acuttingtool wh1ch is connected by a pantograph w1th a loose point withwhich the operator follows the enlarged image produced by another filmserving as a pattern.

According to this invention, it 1s the pattern ,film itself, that is tosay, the one the views of which are projected and followedby the tracerpoint, which is cut out and whlch will serve as the stencil. The cuttingtool, operated by the pantograph, then cuts, not the part of the filmwhich is actually projected and of which the image 1s followed by theoperator, but a part adjacent to the place to be cut out and which hasbeen projected at a previous operation. Of course, the traces made bythe cutting tool at one place of the film cannot coincide with thecontours of the image placed at the same spot, but that is of noimportance as the film is only cut out for the purpose of making astencil.

It is expedient to cut out the film whlch is projected itself, andpreferably the part of such film which is nearest to the lmageprojected, for the purpose of eliminatingas much as possible the errorsdue to the varlations of the distance which separates the perforationsand the like, which exist in all films, such errors having the effect ofproducing when coloring gaps or colored fringes which ought not toexist.

So the present machine'is so fitted that the cutting tool will bepositioned to cut out an image of the film at the same time that thesource of light is projecting the following image on to the translucentglass.

Such machine presents other features as well as this one.

To cut out the film easily and exactly, the

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 24, 1917.

Serial No. 785,878.

pantograph must have neither play nor sagging while having however greatfreedom of movement. A

For such purpose, use is made of a pantograph which comprises a wellknown oscillatory rod hanging from a universal joint and with whichguiding and tracing points are connected. According to this invention,the swinging rod is guided in aplane always vertical, for instance bymeans of a slide-way and is so secured as to be enabled to turn aroundits own axis; the guiding and tracing points are then secured 'to armswhich are articulated to such rod by means of pivot screws. Such screwsform axes parallel to each other and which are at right angles to therod, and around which the rod can swing freely and without any play sothat the guiding and tracing points are held exactly in a same planewith the rod. This result is obtained even if the rod has transversalplay in its slide-way, so that the only play and friction which have tobe taken into account are those of the universal joint of the rod andthose of the pivot screws carrying the guide arms of the tracing andguiding points; it is easy to render these of no importance.

One embodiment of this invention and which incorporates all thesefeatures is shown diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, inwhich 2- Figure l is a side elevation of the machine.

Figs. 2. and 3 are front and rear detail elevations respectively of themachine.

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail plan on the line AA' of Fig. 1.

Fi 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the e ectrical connections.

On a cast-iron table 1 are secured two Standards 3 and 4 braced by theplates 5 and 6.

The plate 5 carries, between the standards, an open-work table 7. Suchtable is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The film 8 which is to be cutout can be moved forward or backward on the table 7 to the extent of oneimage each time in any suitable way.

The luminous rays issuing from a point 9 are assembled by a condenser10, pass through the film 8, a glass 10, an objectiveglass 11, atriangular or single reflection prism 12, an objective-glass 13, apentagonal or double reflection prism 14 and come to a stop on thetarnished or translucent glass 15 where the image appears enlarged.

The reducing device connecting the loose point 22 with the cutting toolis composed of a vertical rod 16 carrying a rectangular frame 18.

A steel ball is secured to the rod 16 and rests in a ring 17 secured bybraces to the plate 6; a screw 19 having a lock-nut allows of minimizingthe play of such ball.

The rod 16 can only move forwardly and backwardly, its lower end beingguided by the gaged groove provided between the steel rulers 20.

A horizontal steel rod 21 is connected with the rod 16 by a yoke pivotedto an axis associated with the said rod 16. The other end of rod 21 isprovided with a point 22 and with a handle 23 whereby the operatorfollows the projected image.

In the frame 18, between two pivot screws 26, is pivoted a support 27,which is rigidly connected to a front frame 25 by means of the braces24:. The frame 25 is supported by an arm 28 slidable on the stationaryglass 10.

Any movement of the point 22 is repeated by the frame 25 with theselected reduction, which corresponds to the ratio of the areas of thetriangles a, b, c and a, b, 0 (see Fig. 1).

Two tubes 29 secured in the frame 25 leave between their rounded endsthe space necessary for the passage of the film 8. Within such tubes areslidable two steel rods 31 having convergent ends, and two spiralsprings 32 tend to hold such rods separated and bearing againstmicrometrical screws 33 carried by the levers 34:.

The distance between these levers, which are pivoted to the frame 25, islimited by micrometrical screws 35. An electro-magnet 36 also carried bythe frame 25 attracts two pallets of soft iron 37 and through the mediumof the levers 34 and of the screws 33 thus brings the rods 31 toward oneanother in causing their convergent tips to bear against the oppositefaces of the film. These conical tips then scratch both the faces of thefilm deep enough to allow of the images thus traced being readilyremoved from said film, in letting the inner parts fall.

An electric contact is so combined with the point 22 as to send acurrentinto the electromagnet 36 each time that the said point is brought tobear against the glass 15. The current is broken when the point nolonger touches the glass and the sharp cones disappear again into thetubes 29. The electrical contact and connections may be arranged asshown in Fig. 5. The tracer point 22 is movable in an insulating casing38 and is pressed on by a light spring 39. When the point 22 is broughtto bear against the glass 15 the spring is compressed and the point ismoved inward bridging the contacts 410 and 11 which are respectivelyconnected with the battery 12 and the electromagnet 36. When the tracerpoint is no longer in contact with the glass 15 the spring moves thetracer point away from the contacts thus breaking the circuit.

The points which scratch the film may be made of hardened steel or ofprecious itlones or very hard artificial stones, or the The operation ofthe machine is as follows Assuming that m is the image which lies underthe cutting tool and that n, 0, p, are the next of following images, theloose point 22 is moved by the operator along the contours of theenlarged image which is proected onto the tarnished glass 15 by means ofthe luminous rays from the point 9 and passing through the part n of thefilm.

When the part m is cut out, the part n will be advanced under the tool31 and the view located on 0 will be projected in its turn onto theglass 15, and so on.

As will be understood, the structural arrangements shown herein are onlygiven by way of example and may be modified without departing from theessential features of this invention. More particularly, the reducingsystem may be provided with a balancing device which will hold the samein balance indifi'erently in all positions; instead of theelectro-magnet, any suitable mechanical means may be used for thepurpose of moving the points which scratchthe film nearer together orfarther away from one another.

Claims:

1. A machine for cutting cinematographic stencils comprising anopen-work table adapted to support a film, a translucent screen, cuttingmeans adapted to cut out a part of the said film on the said table,projecting means whereby to project onto such screen a part of the samefilm at a short distance from the aforesaid part, and means connectedwith the cutting means and adapted tobe led by hand onto such screen andto move proportionally the said cutting means.

2. A machine for cutting cinematographic stencils comprising atranslucent screen, a source of light, projecting means adapted toproject luminous rays of such light onto the screen, a pantograph,tracing means connected with a movable point of such pantograph andadapted to move onto the said screen, cutting means connected withanother movable point of such pantograph, and an openwork table adaptedto guide a film through the said luminous rays and through the field ofaction of the cutting means, the projecting means and the cutting meansbeing so adapted that the two parts of the film eX- posed respectivelyto the action of such means will be difierent yet not far from oneanother.

3. A machine for cutting cinematographic stencils comprising thecombination of a fixed support, a fixed guide havinga horizontal groove,a rod having one end articulated to the said fixed support and itsopposite end engaged in the said groove, such ends being so adapted thatthe said rod can turn around its own longitudinal axis and can oscillatein the plane which this axis forms with that of the groove, a fixedscreen located perpendicularly to the last named plane, an open-worktable parallel to such screen, tracing means, a connection between thetracing means and a part of said rod, the tracing means being adapted tobe moved by hand on the said screen, cutting means and a connectionbetween the cutting means and another part of the rod, the cutting meansbeing adapted to move on the said table.

4. A machine for cutting cinematographic stencils comprising thecombination of a fixed support, a fixed guide having a groove, a rodhaving one end articulated to the said fixed support and its oppositeend engaged in the said groove, such ends being so adapted that the saidrod can turn around its own longitudinal axis and can oscillate in theplane which this axis forms with that of the groove, two pairs ofconical pivots fastened to the said 'rod on two lines perpendicular withrespect to the axis of this rod and parallel with respect to oneanother, guiding means secured to one of said pairs of pivots andcutting means secured to the other of said pairs.

5. In a machine for cutting cinematographic stencils, a film-cuttingmeans, a projecting means, a screen, a stylus mounted to be movedrelatively to the screen to trace portions of a projected picture, asupport on which a film may be positioned for its pictures to beprojected by the projecting means and for the film to be cut by thecutting means, and means controlled by the movements of the stylus togovern the said cutting means.

6. In a machine for cutting cinematographic stencils, a projectingmeans, a filmcutting means to cut the film and form the stencil, an openwork table on which a film may be brought in position to be projectedand into position to be cut by the cutting means, and means forreceiving the projected picture.

7 In a machine for cutting cinematographic stencils, a film-cuttingmeans, a screen adapted to receive a projected picture, a stylus mountedto be moved relatively to the screen to trace portions of a projectedpicture, and means controlled by the stylus for governing the cuttingmeans.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signedmy name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MARCEL VANDAL. Witnesses:

HANSON O. Coxn, MAURICE Roux.

